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September 21, 2010

[“If government can bar Gyanendra from attending the programme, people will not allow the President to attend the Indra Jantra function tomorrow,” Maharjan said. “Political interference in religion has increased.” WYHF Sindhupalchowk chapter president Dahindra Thakuri, who came from the district to attend today's function, also said, irked youths have announced to bar both President Yadav and Prime MinisterMadhav Kumar Nepal from attending Wednesday’s Indra Jatra function.]

Nine Ex-Kumaris (living goddesses of Kathmandu) being felicitated at Basantapur, Tuesday, 21 Sept 2010. Former King Gyanendrawas scheduled to participate in the function, but he was barred from attending by the government. The organisers then put a portrait of the ex-royal family in the chair as a ‘symbolic’ chief guest. nepalnews.com/rh

Former King Gyanendra Shah has felicitated nine former Kumaris amid a function organised by World Youth Hindu Federation (WYHF) at his residence in Nirmal Niwas on Tuesday.

The felicitation, initially scheduled to be organised at Basantapur, was organised at Nirmal Niwas after the government suggested Shah not to attend the programme in Basantapur to avoid possible clashes between pro-monarchy and anti-monarchy groups.

Dissatisfied with the government’s refusal to provide extra security to ex-king Shah in Basantapur at the eleventh hour, the Hindu body decided to organise the felicitation at the former King’s residence itself.

Earlier, chairperson of WYHF Rajan Maharjan had felicitated the former Kumaris, also known as living goddesses, at Basantapur keeping the former King’s picture on the seat allotted for him to mark his symbolic presence.

Addressing the programme, Maharjan announced that people will not allow President Yadav to enter Basantapur tomorrow as government refused to provide extra security to the former King today.

“If government can bar Gyanendra from attending the programme, people will not allow the President to attend the Indra Jantra function tomorrow,” Maharjan said. “Political interference in religion has increased.”

WYHF Sindhupalchowk chapter president Dahindra Thakuri, who came from the district to attend today's function, also said, irked youths have announced to bar both President Yadav and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal from attending Wednesday’s Indra Jatra function.

“They were annoyed with government’s decision to bar the ex-king,” Thakuri informed Nepalnews. “The notice came only after we brought all felicitation materials on behalf of ex-king from Nirmal Niwas.”

Following the cancellation of Shah's visit the organisers chanted pro-monarchy slogans.

Earlier, authorities had asked the organising committee to correct a banner that read "His Majesty's Government" citing it would be against the constitution. However, the organisers did not comply with the government directive.

[The high-profile public appearances of Gyanendra comes amid a deepening constitutional crisis in the country due to the failure of the political parties to elect a new premier following the resignation of Madhav Kumar Nepal on June 30.]

By Yubraj Ghimire

Kathmandu : In a surprise move, and certainly one that is a first, the Nepalese government gave strict instructions to former king Gyanendra not to go ahead with a planned visit to the Kumari Temple on Tuesday.

The former king, now commoner, Gyanendra has also been asked to stay put at home. After the missive arrived from caretaker Prime Minister Madhav Nepal, Gyanendra cancelled his visit on Tuesday to the Kumari Temple – the home of the 'Living Goddess'.

The Prime Minister's order came minutes before Gyanendra was to leave for the temple in Basantapur.

The order is unusual as it tantamounts to denying a citizen his right to practise religion – a move, sources said, aimed at curbing the former king's increasing popularity.

Meanwhile, a posse of armed policemen has been put on duty outside the Nirmal Niwas with strict instructions to keep a watch on the former king's movements.

The 65-year-old former monarch was to attend the felicitation function for the 'Living Goddess' in his ancestral Hanumandhoka palace complex in the heart of the captial at the last moment today on the eve of Indra Jatra, a major Hindu festival in the country.

Nepal's 'Living Goddess' is revered by many as a "virgin deity" in a centuries-old tradition in the country.

In the Indra Jatra festival, the 'Living Goddess' in her bejeweled splendour is borne in a palanquin in a religious procession through parts of the Nepalese capital.

It is a grand carnival attended by people in thousands, who come to see the 'Living Goddess' and seek her blessings. In keeping with an old tradition, the Kumari also blesses the King of Nepal during this festival. Traditionally, the Kumari was regarded as the protector of the royal family.

Gyanendra was invited to the function as chief guest by the World Hindu Youth Federation, which had organised the programme to felicitate the Kumari, and former Kumaris.

Authorities, however, barred him from attending the religious function citing security reasons.

"He is confined to his private residence at Nirmal Niwas as the security personnel did not allow him to come out of the residence to attend the function", an organiser said.

A police official at the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Circle at Hanumandhoka complex said the former ruler was not allowed to visit the area.

A group of around 50 to 60 royalists, who had gathered at the venue today, staged protests and shouted anti-government slogans against the move.

The former king has been barred from visiting the Hanumandhoka complex where he was invited to felicitate the present and former Kumaris, a pro-monarchy activist said, adding they were planning to protest against the move.

Some nine former Kumaris, including the oldest 82-year old Dil Kumari Shakya and the youngest Preeti Shakya, 13, took part in the function at Hanumandhoka complex.

Some 504 girls, who have not reached the age of puberty, were also worshipped as Goddess Kumari during the programme.

President Ram Baran Yadav will visit the Kumari House at Kathmandu Durbarsquare to receive blessings from the 'Living Goddess' during the Indra Jatra on Wednesday. The eight-day Indra Jatra festival starts tomorrow and will include the pulling of chariot of different deities, including Kumari, Ganesh and Bhairav.

In the past, the Nepalese monarch worshipped the Goddess on the occasion. However, after the abolition of the monarchy in 2008, the country's president has been entrusted with the popular religious responsibility.

The Hindu organisation has threatened to prevent Yadav from taking part in the function on Wednesday.

Gyanendra has kept a low profile since he left the Narayanhiti palace in June 2008, when the country's governing Constituent Assembly voted to abolish the centuries-old monarchy and declared the country a republic.

The former monarch, however, has lately increased his appearances at public and religious functions, including visiting important temples across the country amid pomp and show.

Supporters of the monarchy in Nepal, where kings have been revered as the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu, have demanded a national referendum to decide if the monarchy should be revived.

Even Gyanendra has hinted that the monarchy may one day be restored. In an interview aired last year, the deposed king did not rule out the revival of the monarchy if the people believed the institution was important for the country.

Mass protests against Gyanendra, who became the king in 2001 after the death of his elder brother Birendra in a palace massacre, finally culminated in the abolition of the monarchy soon after the United CPN-Maoist emerged as the largest party in the 2008 assembly polls.

The high-profile public appearances of Gyanendra comes amid a deepening constitutional crisis in the country due to the failure of the political parties to elect a new premier following the resignation of Madhav Kumar Nepal on June 30.

The country has been in political limbo since the resignation of Nepal, who is currently heading a caretaker government.

[Less than a fortnight after the opposition Maoists tried to disrupt the former king's religious programme in easternNepaland kicked up a row about his daughter-in-law Himani's public appearance in the north, the caretaker government of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stopped the last king of Nepal from attending a religious programme in the capital on Tuesday on the ground of security. Ironically, the restriction came even as Nepal was celebrating International Peace Day and the prime minister's official speech touted the measures taken by his government to take the peace process forward. ]

KATHMANDU: Unable to give the country a new prime minister even after seven rounds of election and facing growing criticism, Nepal's precariously aligned ruling parties are now grappling with an old fear – that of deposedKing Gyanendramaking a comeback.

Less than a fortnight after the opposition Maoists tried to disrupt the former king's religious programme in easternNepaland kicked up a row about his daughter-in-law Himani's public appearance in the north, the caretaker government of Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal stopped the last king of Nepal from attending a religious programme in the capital on Tuesday on the ground of security. Ironically, the restriction came even as Nepal was celebrating International Peace Day and the prime minister's official speech touted the measures taken by his government to take the peace process forward.

"His Majesty was to have been the chief guest at a programme today," an aide of the former king, who did not want to be named, told TNN. "It had no political connotations, being purely a religious programme. However, the government said he should not attend the programme. We are distressed because it is a violation of his rights as a citizen of Nepal."

The Yuva Vishwa Hindu Mahasangh, a pro-Hindu group, had organised a felicitation programme at Basantapur, the location of the old palace of the Shah kings, as well as the palace of the Kumari, Nepal's Living Goddess. A throne-like white chair had been kept at the centre of the dais by the organisers flanked by nine former Kumaris, whose ages ranged from 90 to 19 and who were worshipped as goddesses. The chair, intended for the deposed king, remained empty after the restriction. The loyal organisers however continued with the programme in the name of "the king of five principalities, king of kings", the old address for the Shah kings and placed Gyanendra Shah and former quuen Komal's photographs on the chair in protest. "We condemn the government's action," they said.

The home ministry said Gyanendra was asked to drop his plan due to security concerns. The Nepali Congress, the largest party in the ruling coalition, is holding its internal elections on Tuesday, the conclusion of its much-awaited 12th general convention. With a large number of security forces deployed at the election venue, the ministry said it would not be able to provide security to Gyanendra's entourage. "It's a lame excuse," the former king's aide said. "The government is apprehensive of the popularity of the king."

Four years after Nepal became secular, the Kumari still remains a pivotal point for the republic and the former royals. An ancient king, Jay Prakash Malla, was said to have lost his kingdom after he displeased the Kumari, the guardian deity of the royal family. Traditionally, the kings of Nepal worshipped the Kumari during the Indrajatra festival, held this time of the year to celebrate a good harvest. Even after Nepal's parliament abolished monarchy in 2008, the deposed king had turned up at the temple of the Kumari to worship her as a commoner.

Paras in Muktinath

Even as former king Gyanendra was prevented from attending a religious programme in Kathmandu, his son and former crown prince Paras flew to Mustang, close to the Tibetborder. The former playboy prince, who has begun attending temples with a vengeance, had gone on a private visit to the celebrated Muktinath temple, worshipped by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains alike, officials said.